A pyramid among so many
by Egwene
Summary: [Complete] Jacob and some Tok'ra are locked in a pyramid, can SG1 save them and return safely to Earth?
1. Part 1

A pyramid among so many 

Disclaimer: As usual, the characters and settings do not belong to us and we will try to do justice to their creators.

This is my translation of a fanfic written in French with my friend Marion and this is our first stargate fanfic, so please be indulgent…

We are eager for yours comments, you can contact us at marion.c@frisoo.freesurf.fr and egwene@caramail.com.

The action takes place sometime during season 5 (so Daniel is not « dead » yet).

Chapter 1 

Daniel et Jack were sitting in the mess having breakfast; they were discussing their last mission, on planet P5X 352, where they had discovered fascinating ruins, at least according to Daniel.

"I assure you, Jack, this is a major discovery!"

"I am not saying I don't believe you Daniel, but you have a slight tendency to say the exact same thing each time we find a rock with some inscription on it!

I just can't see why these ruins are so special."

"They are the proof that…"

Jack turned out of the conversation just as every time Daniel or Sam went in long and complicated explanations instead of keeping it to the bare essentials.

He broke into Daniel's speech.

"Do you think I should take some vacation?"

"What?" Daniel asked, as he didn't understand what could be the link between Jack's vacation and the Phoenician ruins he had been enthusiastically talking about for ten minutes.

"Vacation. I'm due for several days off, but I'm not quite sure."

"Why?"

"Simple, every time I take a single day off, the Asgards or the Goa'uld, or the Tok'ra find a good reason to get me back, something like *you have to save the world once more… bla bla bla."

"Well, the world looks all right for the time being, I think we will be able to do without you for a few days," Daniel answered without much conviction, he couldn't figure out where this sudden need of vacation had come from.

"Ah! That's exactly what you say each time!" He sipped his coffee.

"Maybe you should talk it over with General Hammond…"

Before Jack could answer, the alarm went off and the two SG1 members hurried to the gate room, wondering what could have triggered the alert.

When they arrived, Sam was already there, sitting in front of the control panel, trying to find out who was trying to get through the stargate.

General Hammond stood behind her and looked worried.

"No SG unit was scheduled to return today."

"I am receiving an identification code. It's the Tok'ra."

"Open the iris."

"Yes, sir."

Teal'c arrived as the sergeant was opening the iris.

"What's going on?"

"Our dear friends the Tok'ra have come to say hello. They are gonna be disappointed to learn we have no more mother ship to lend them," Jack answered bitterly before adding for Daniel: "I told you so!"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders in response and SG1 went down to the stargate to greet their Tok'ra visitor.

They were standing in front of the access ramp when a man walked through the gate. He moved to meet General Hammond.

"Good day, my name is Malek, " he said with his Tok'ra voice.

The General ordered his men to lower their weapons and welcome the newcomer.

They were all disappointed their visitor wasn't Jacob for they had not seen him in a long time and he was the only Tok'ra they all felt comfortable with.

"It's a great honor to finally meet you, Colonel O'Neill," he said, shaking hands with Jack.

 "Yep. The feeling isn't mutual. And it's not going to improve when you tell us why you are here."

 "Colonel!"

General Hammond didn't appreciate the attitude of his subaltern towards their Tok'ra allies, event if he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

 "Maybe we could discuss this in a quieter place."

 "Yes, sure, come with me, please," Sam offered, motioning for their guest to follow her.

They led their visitor to the briefing room. Once they were all seated, they looked up at Malek, inviting him to reveal the reasons for his presence.

"I don't quite know how to say this, but… Selmak has disappeared. I'm sorry, major."

The news was a shock to everybody, especially for Sam.

"What do you mean, disappeared? The Tok'ra can do many thinks, but they don't just disappear, that I know! " Jack had stood up without even knowing it. He sat back, asking Malek for explanations.

"We don't know much, Selmak was doing some research on planet Suban last week. He was supposed to come back two days ago, but we have not received any news from him. I went there myself to look for him, but the research site was empty and there was no sign of him on the planet."

"What kind of research?" Daniel was curious to know what could be so interesting on planet Suban.

Chapter 2 

"It's about a temple, built as a Goa'uld temple, but all the writings inside are in the Ancients' language. Selmak was supposed to translate them and to understand what had happened on that planet."

"And he was alone on such a mission?" the General asked.

"What General Hammond wants to know, is why you have left him alone on a rather insecure planet! Are you sure, it wasn't occupied by our favorite enemies?" Hammond glared at Jack.

"He went with three other Tok'ra. They have also disappeared."

"What are you expecting from us exactly? " Sam broke in.

"There are not enough of us to go and look for them. Besides, Selmak was the most able to translate the inscriptions but we think Dr Jackson has a good chance to succeed. We haven't found any notes that could help you."

"General, authorization to leave for a mission on Suban ?" Sam asked after getting up.

"First we have to send a probe and Malek will give us every information he can. Then I will give you my answer."

After having noted the coordinates of the planet, General Hammond went down and gave his orders to the officer in charge of the gate, then he came back to join SG1 who was listening with great attention to what Malek was explaining.

One hour later, the probe was sent and they were able to discover the first images.

Nobody appeared on the screen. On the right of the gate, there was the edge of a forest, in front there was a  great green meadow, and on the left a huge lake. Behind the water, mountains could be seen and in the far background a pyramid.

The analyses showed that the planet was viable for humans.

After a brief moment of thought, the General gave his decision.

"All right SG1, you are leaving in two hours, your mission is to find out what happened to Jacob and the three other Tok'ras. Dismissed."

The four members of the team left to get ready without a word, after a nod in Malek's direction.

"Thank you General. Now with you permission I'm going back to inform them of your decision. We will make contact soon to keep in touch. If we have more information we will get it to you without delay."

Two hours later, Sam Daniel and Teal'c were standing in the gate room. Behind the glass, they could see General Hammond. Daniel was speaking with Teal'c about the major discoveries they were about to make. Sam was a little farther ahead, waiting for departure with visible impatience. At that point, the Colonel showed up.

"Ready for new adventures! Let's save the world once more!"

"Colonel, this is a search and rescue mission for someone important to us. I want to hear from you every 24 hours and you're supposed to come back in 5 days at the most. Good luck."

They formed a group around the robot that transported some equipment and food and waited for the gate to open. They walked through without a look for the men staying behind.

On the other side, they assumed battle positions and checked to see if the surroundings were secured. Once reassured, they put on their equipment and hid the robot. They left in the direction of the pyramid.

"This is going to be a two hours' walk, I think," Sam informed them.

"Stay alert, we don't know what to expect," Jack pointed out.

They left without a word, Teal'c in front, Daniel behind, watching everything intensively, the two soldiers closing the row.

Everything was calm, the weather was sunny, and a light wind blew. Some birds could be heard as they made their way through the large meadow.

The grass was very high, almost up to their chest. They were following a path, others had been that way recently.

At about one kilometer from the pyramid, Jack broke the silence.

"When we arrive there, we will inspect the place with caution. If everything is OK, Teal'c and Daniel will care for the translation while Sam and I will look at the surroundings. No time to waste."

Nobody had anything to add and the walk ended as it had started, in silence.

When they arrived, Daniel was already marveling at everything he was seeing but the three soldiers were on their guard.

"Come, Daniel. You will be able to get to work once we have made sure there are none  of our snaky friends."  

They entered the pyramid and what they saw made them stop.

Chapter 3 

In front of them, they saw a large and narrow corridor leading to the center of the pyramid, on each side large stone columns were supporting the building. There was no opening to let the light through and the gallery was quickly sinking into threatening darkness. Although the internal and external architecture was of Goa'uld facture, that pyramid didn't look like anything they knew. The columns' height and the corridor's length were far beyond what they could have imagined from the outside.

From the meadow, the pyramid appeared to be small and the members of SG1 had thought they would have visited it all in an hour at the most. But now they were inside, days or rather weeks seemed more like an appropriate evaluation. And each stone was covered with text in the Ancient's' language. There was no blank space left as far as they could see in the shadow.

When they got passed the initial amazement, Colonel O'Neill was the first to talk.

"Huh, Major, I don't quite remember, but, did Malek tell us about something like that?"

"No, I don't think so, sir."

"Another surprise gift from our friends the Tok'ra! Teal'c, can you see the end of the tunnel, or even the ceiling?"

"No, O'Neill, I cannot."

"It's surely several hundred meters long," Daniel said, as he was closing in the columns and the wall behind to examine the inscriptions.

"Daniel, stay here. We are still trying to find out what happened to Jacob and if we have to face a Goa'uld threat!" Jack infuriated. He admired Daniel's enthusiasm for his work but he would have sometimes liked him to be more careful when they arrived on a new planet.

"What? Yes, coming, Daniel answered, taking back his place between Teal'c and Sam.

"Do you have any idea on the purpose of this temple?" Sam asked curiously, she had also given an intrigued  look to the inscriptions.

"Nope. You Teal'c?"

"I don't recognize that kind of temple, I have never seen its like. It is hard to guess its use, Daniel Jackson."

The four members of SG1 decided it would be wiser to do a reconnaissance of the whole pyramid and secure the place before getting interested in the inscriptions, so they walked in, following the only way, with only the light of the torches they had brought with them.

After an hour of striding in an anguishing half darkness, they hadn't gained anything, nothing allowed them to know if they were any closer to the center of the pyramid or if the corridor went on like this for many kilometers. The walls and columns were identical to the ones they had seen at the entrance of the temple, there was no special sign to offer them a mark point, nothing could help them make out different parts in the text.

"Jack, let's face the facts, we can't go on like that!" Daniel said, stopping.

The other members of the team came to a halt and turned to Jack.

"Daniel is right, Colonel, we have to make a camp at the entrance of the pyramid and start studying the text over there."

Teal'c nodded.

"Alright." 

Jack followed the general opinion, even though he wasn't so sure about the absence of the Goa'uld.

It was getting obvious that continuing blindly would lead to nothing. And the whole team turned back. Once they had made a half turn, they could not see the door though which they had come in, but they had no doubt on the path to take because the corridor hadn't made any bend or fork and the exit was to be in front of them.

But, after another hour of walking, they were not any closer. And they did not seem to have made any progress because they could not see any light in front of them.

They stopped as Daniel wanted to catch his breath and have a sip of water.

"Maybe it's already night and we are not far, Sam offered.

Or maybe not. Thought she had not said it, her friends heard her doubts. And worry spread through the team.

"I don't get it. We have walked about an hour in one way, and then another hour in the opposite way but we have not come back to our starting point."

"Thanks Daniel for these useful details."

"No need to get upset, Jack. I have only a simple question, it may be stupid, but where are we?"

Chapter 4

"I have no idea, Daniel Jackson", Teal'c answered, with his usual calm, "but, whatever is happening to us might have happened to Jacob and the other Tok'ra."

"That would mean they are still within the walls of this infernal pyramid! So, in fact, they may not have been caught by the Goa'uld!"

"Maybe not, but this place is still very strange. It may be some kind of trap, or prison, or…"

"Don't you have any cheerful thoughts, Carter? Daniel, you could look if you understand something in what's written here. You keep a torch, we will switch the others off to save the batteries." 

Daniel nodded to the colonel and turned to the nearest columns, he started to examine the writings. Sam joined him. Teal'c and Jack faced each a side of the corridor to check on the possible arriving of a Goa'uld or whoever else.

For nearly two hours, nobody spoke a word, the silence being broken from time to time by Daniel mumbling. He had taken out his notebook and was taking a lot of notes, checking on the papers he had brought about the Ancient language. Then he went across the passage and got interested in the column opposite to the one he had just been deciphering. 

"You have read everything already?" the Colonel asked with surprise.

Daniel didn't bother to answer and went to the column on his left.

Sam and Jack watched him, looking questioningly at each other.

Teal'c turned to them, raised an eyebrow and them turned back to face the corridor and continue on his watch. Daniel was moving from a column to another, crouching or getting up, limiting his area of research to the six closest to their improvised camp. After fifteen minutes of this game, Jack lost his calm.

"Daniel, are you going to tell us what you have found?"

"That's extraordinary! If you only read one column you can't understand the text. In fact, instead of two words, there is sometimes a group of three signs like here and there. " He showed them two marks on one of the stones.

"They send us back to another part of the text. I think one of them indicates the stone we have to look at, one gives you the number of columns you have to count and one tells you if you must move over to the other side of the corridor."

"And I suppose you have found out the code…"

"Not yet, but I'm making progress." And he showed Jack a page from his notebook he had been writing on. Sam and Teal'c moved to get closer to them to have a look.

"You see, that sign means two, that one means one and that last is ahead. You can read it here," he explained as he was showing them a part of the text.

"How do you know if you have to move to the left or to the right? And is it the first number or the second that indicates the column?" Sam asked with interest.

"I don't know yet, I only have to try all the combinations to see where the text means something."

"Well, do it and let us know if you find something."

"I'll take back the watch, Colonel."

Daniel went back to his texts, Jack sat down, his back to a column as Teal'c and Sam watch each a side of the corridor. 

Another hour went by in silence when suddenly.

"That's it! " the archeologist exclaimed.

Jack who had fallen asleep startled, Sam left her post to join Daniel.

"The three pieces of information are not always in the same order. The number for the column is either first and then you have to move to the left, or last and you move to the right, the number for the stone is always in the middle."

"So the last sign indicates if you have to change sides. If I understand correctly this one, I have to read the second stone on the first column to the left and the text goes on there," Sam marveled showing the first line on the stone in question.

"Almost. In fact, on each stone, there are just a few lines that give information. There are written in larger characters. Then you have to start here."

"And what did you understand from all this gibberish?"

"Well I haven't transcribed everything yet but it seems this place is some king of temporal trap for…"

"Excuse me Daniel Jackson, but we are going to have some company."

The members of SG1 made silence and they could hear the footsteps of someone coming in their direction. They were waiting with fear, looking towards what should have been the entrance of the pyramid. After five minutes, a shape appeared.


	2. Part 2

A pyramid among so many 

Disclaimer: As usual, the characters and settings do not belong to us and we will try to do justice to their creators.

This is my translation of a fanfic written in French with my friend Marion and this is our first stargate fanfic, so please be indulgent…

We are eager for yours comments, you can contact us at marion.c@frisoo.freesurf.fr and egwene@caramail.com.

The action takes place sometime during season 5 (so Daniel is not « dead » yet).

Chapter 5 

Colonel O'Neill made a sign for his team to be ready to guard against all eventualities. They switched off their torches and posted themselves behind the columns, waiting for this mysterious person to appear. The waiting seemed to last forever for the SG1 members. On one side of the corridor, Sam and Jack had their P90 in hand, ready for use, whereas on the other side, Teal'c was already aiming at the newcomer with his Goa'uld lance and Daniel had his handgun out of his holster. 

At last the shadow got closer and they were able to make out a man in his fifties, wearing blue dusted shirt and pans, he was alone and did not seem to be armed.

He was slowly approaching their position when Jack decided to show up. He made a step towards the middle of the passage and found himself face to face with the mysterious individual.

The stranger let out a scream and stopped dead. 

"Who… who are you? What are you doing here?" he stammered.

The other members of the team had joined Jack, they switched on a torch to light the passage. Daniel answered.

"We are explorers from a planet called Earth, we mean you no harm," he said, stretching out a hand as a sign of his good will.

But the stranger did not look convinced by Daniel's reassuring tone and he made a step backwards.

"Wait. My name is Daniel Jackson and this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, major Samantha Carter and Teal'c; we are… hum…"

"Lost," Teal'c broke in.

The alien was not reassured in front of the team's threatening attitude, he was staring at the arms Jack and Sam were still holding. Daniel made a silent request and they lowered their weapons.

"What's your name?" he went on with a friendly tone.

"Hulkin."

"Excuse me, Hulkin, but you might be able to help us. We entered the pyramid to study these texts, " Daniel said, showing the inscriptions on the columns, "but we can't find our way out."

"There is no exit," Hulkin answered with a sigh.

"We came in by a door!" Jack yelled in exasperation. This mission was really turning into a nightmare.

"I did not say there was no entry, I said there was no exit."

"This is not possible!"

"Jack, calm down. Hulkin, could you explain yourself?" Daniel offered with worry, "starting with who you are."

They all sat in a circle in the middle of the corridor, waiting for explanations.

Hulkin cleared his throat before starting to tell his story. He seemed more at ease.

"I come from a world called Derion. We discovered the Stargate about 50 years ago but we did not know how to operate it, until some archeologists found the control panel about two month ago. We decided to start exploring the planets we could communicate with."

"Up to that point, our stories have a lot in common," Daniel said softly.

Hulkin went on.

"6 months ago, we have discovered this planet and that temple. I was appointed to decipher the inscriptions that cover the columns, it is a language we had never seen before and my superiors were curious to know what we could learn here. I came with a team and we entered the pyramid. A few hours later, we realized we would not be able to get out."

"You mean you have been stuck here for 6 months?"

Hulkin smiled at the astonished look on Jack's face. He had a resigned look in his eyes.

"More or less."

"How did you manage to survive this long?"

"With my team, we had brought water and food supplies for several months, the translation was to be a difficult task."

"And were is your team now?" Teal'c asked.

Hulkin lowered his eyes and hesitated before answering.

"Dead. When we first tried to get out of the temple and failed, my companions were demoralized but we went on. Several months later, when it became obvious we would never get out of here, they preferred a quick death rather that starving in darkness." 

"And you have been walking for 6 months in that corridor without ever coming upon an exit? I don't see how that's possible."

"That's exactly what the others said. I don't see why this is so difficult to believe, you told me yourselves you were lost."

"The others?" Daniel asked with curiosity.

Chapter 6 

"Yes, a group of four persons, they were trying to translate the inscriptions as well."

"By the way, did you succeed in translating the text?" Daniel asked.

"I understood certain parts but I think there must be some kind of code to read it because the sentences do not make sense otherwise."

"Absolutely, look, you only need…"

"Daniel!" Jack groaned, "there are more important things to consider just now."

"That group, how long ago did you see them? Who are they?" Sam asked.

"I met them about three days ago. They were translating the columns. They were strange: they had two voices; they made me think of some legends on my planet."

"Are there pyramids on your planet? And what about your culture?"

"Daniel!" groaned the colonel once more, "you will have this conversation when we're out of here. Now, find us a way to locate Jacob and his men and a way to get back home."

"Why didn't you stay with the others?" Teal'c asked.

"They would not believe me. And they were fascinated by their translation."

"Excuse me, but you say there is no exit and yet you walk as if you were looking for one. I find that a little odd."

"In fact I am looking for the first column, the one where the text begins."

"And how do you intend to find it? "Jack asked, not convinced.

"Excuse me Jack, but I think that by reading the text we could find the beginning and reconstruct the whole text. I believe it's our best chance to get out of here. The answer is probably written on these walls!" 

"He is right, sir. We can't go on aimlessly. Hulkin is proof enough we will find nothing that way."

"All right."

Daniel stood up, followed by Hulkin. And they both started the translation after Daniel's explanations of the code. Teal'c sat between two columns and began to Kelno'reem. Sam took her watch turn, Jack set up comfortably and fell asleep.

Two hours later Daniel and Hulkin were moving between columns for their translation, Teal'c had not moved. Sam went to wake up her commanding officer so he could take his shift.

"Sir, your watch turn."

Jack turned back to face the translators and realized they were going afar.

"Daniel, stay with us, please! Daniel! Daniel! " Jack yelled, slightly upset.

Since his friend did not respond, Jack turned to Sam.

"Can you warn Teal'c and join us? I think our friends have lost themselves in the inscriptions!"

"Yes, sir."

Jack strode to the anthropologist and Hulkin to stop them while Sam and Teal'c were gathering their equipment to join the others. Once everybody was reunited, they set up for a quick meal.

"So Daniel, have you found an exit door yet?"

"Jack! Come on, not yet! I can't read the Ancient language fluently. But we have made significant progress on that temporal trap story. It appears to be some place built by the Ancients to lure Goa'uld and imprison them. They made known amongst the System Lords that this temple was filled with technologies completing and extending the power of the stargate."

"And surely our dear friends could not resist the temptation!"

"The story doesn't tell."

"Shouldn't we have found corpses if that was so? " Teal'c interrupted.

"Rabat-joie… " Jack sighed.

"Could somebody explain me who the Goa'uld are?"

SG1 told their new friend about those they had so often fought, about the Tok'ra to which the people he had met belonged, they talked about the different people they had met…

"I understand better some of the passages I read. Even if I didn't have the code, I was able to find some coherent sentences. They mentioned some planets. It made me think of what your friends were talking about when I came by them. Apparently, the text they were reading was telling of the pyramid construction and its technology."

"Do you realize what this means, sir? It could give us an excellent hint to find our bearings!"

"If we could find them!"

"There might be a way." Daniel muttered.

Chapter 7 

"Explain yourself."

"It's quite simple, in theory, at least. This is some kind of labyrinth like the ones we have in legends from the Ancient Greece on Earth."

"Up to that point, we agree, but I don't see how this could help us to get out."

"Let me finish. In that kind of place, the architect always built another exit to escape if he were to be locked up inside, which frequently happened. A secret passage if you may. Some think the constructors of the pyramids in Egypt did the same."

"And you have just found this secret passage, right?" Jack asked.

"Well, no, but I have not looked for it. We were concentrating on translating the columns but the key may be somewhere else."

At these words, Daniel and Sam stood up, they looked at each other and understood they had the same idea, Sam lit up a torch as Daniel took his notebook and they headed for the wall on their right, behind the columns. The rest of the team and Hulkin also stood up and joined their two companions.

"Daniel?"

"Hum? Yeah, Hulkin. You see, we focused on translating the text on the columns and we forgot there were also inscriptions on the wall behind. Since the text was offering a logic account, we didn't have the idea to look somewhere else."

"I see what you mean… The story on these columns may just be nothing more than a lead, a way to direct ourselves."

"Exactly."

"Look," Daniel pointed a part in the text, "the language is the same but there is no trace of the different signs that compose the code we have deciphered on the columns."

Daniel lit another torch and opened his notebook while Sam and Hulkin were inspecting different parts of the wall. Teal'c and Jack had took up their weapons and stood watch in the corridor.

Suddenly Daniel turned his head, he compared what he had just read on the stones in font of him and what he had noted in his book a few hours earlier.

"The sentences are the same," he mumbled with astonishment.

"What?" Hulkin asked, standing up.

"The sentences are the same, the ones on the wall and the ones we have translated on the columns."

"In that case, your supposition on a secret passage was incorrect, Daniel Jackson."

"Not necessarily."

Daniel passed his finger on certain parts of the text written on the wall.

"The sentences are the same, but here they are at random and don't build up a logical sequence. Furthermore, the same part of the text is repeated several times, in different places."

"Wait a minute," Sam interjected, "we agree on the fact that this pyramid is some kind of temporal trap. Well, I took time to think about that while you were trying to translate the text, and I came up to the conclusion that we are not in a single corridor."

Teal'c and colonel O'Neill closed up to listen to her explanations.

"In fact, the only explanation to this apparent continuity is that each time we change section, we pass, without knowing it, though some kind of EM field which projects us towards the next section at random.

"Carter?" Colonel O'Neill asked with a sigh.

"Sir, this corridor is full of turns and intersections but we can't see them and we don't control where we are going."

"And how is that helping us find Jacob?"

"We only need a way to make these intersections visible."

"I'm listening."

Sam looked at colonel O'Neill and sighed. She was going to answer when Daniel whose eyes had not left the wall interrupted her.

"This part is in relief."

He pressed a sentence of the text with his hand and swiftly all heard some kind of an electrical vibration. The four members of SG1 and their new friend turned towards the wall, they backed a few paces to the middle of the corridor, as they did not know what to expect. The noise grew louder, suddenly, making all conversation impossible. And then the wall moved and a new passage opened before their eyes. The vibration stopped. 

"Daniel, where does this passage lead?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, it takes us back to the first part of the corridor we have explored."

"How did you reach that conclusion?" Sam asked curiously.

"The sentence I pressed was referring to the part of the text I had translated there."

"If you're right, we should be able to find my father easily."

"Hulkin, what was the text the Tok'ra were translating when you met them about?"

"The construction of the pyramid, but it was three days ago already."

Daniel pressed the sentence in relief again and the passage closed. He made a few paces to his left, walking along the wall and lighting it with his torch.

"Here we go. There's a sentence relating to the construction of the pyramid," he said pointing at some part of the text with his torch. 

And before Jack or anybody else could say a word, he pressed the wall and a new passage opened. Jack and Sam walked in first, followed closely by Hulkin, Daniel and finally Teal'c. The passage was dark but they could clearly see an opening a few meters ahead. They strode resolutely when suddenly a Zat discharge went pass Jack's head.

Chapter 8 

Jack threw himself back behind a column on his left, followed by Sam who was pulling Hulkin along, while Daniel and Teal'c were taking cover on the right side of the corridor.

The members of SG1 pulled out their weapons and took combat positions. While responding to the shots of the adversaries they still could not see, they made their way in the corridor, from one column to the next. All of a sudden, Jack caught a move in font of him and ceased fire.

"So, Jacob, that's how you treat friends?"

The gunshots stopped immediately. 

"Jack, is that really you?"

While all the persons present walked out of behind the columns, Sam dashed to Jacob.

"Dad! How are you?"

"I'm OK, what are you doing here?"

"That's a long story. Malek came to tell us you didn't come back."

"And with our usual generosity, we came to look for you," Jack concluded.

Teal'c' wasn't paying attention to the discussion and was watching the source of light.

"O'Neill! This is no way out we have found! It appears to be some kind of Goa'uld lighting source. I have already seen such things."

"Exactly. We found that during one of our explorations. It takes little room, long for hours and can be reloaded," one of the Tok'ra explained. 

Jacob used the interruption to make the introductions. Then came the time for the explanations.

"How did you manage to open a passage in the wall?" started Kaleb.

Sam and Daniel explained all the discoveries they had made up to that point: the code on the columns, the reading of the walls, the sentences in relief… as well as their suppositions: the working of the maze, the reason for the construction of the pyramid… Jack and Teal'c watched the corridors again. Then it was Jacob, Kaleb, Garik and Nolbe's turn to tell what they had discovered.

"We had also understood the code and we suspected the presence of turns in the corridor. We have translated a passage that will surely help us find the exit," Jacob explained.

Jack, immediately very interested by what he had just heard, left his watch position and came closer with Teal'c.

"We have translated a passage about daylight. But we never saw any opening in this pyramid, beside the front door."

"It doesn't mean there is none. I think there are thousands of sections in this corridor. We surely haven't seen the tenth of it! "Jack said, fatalistic. 

"I have been in here for six months and I haven't seen any opening."

"He's right Jack. Anyway, I think it's worth a try!"

Everybody look at the colonel with attention, waiting for his decision.

"You may be right. All right. So Jacob, where is that passage?"

Jacob stood up immediately and went to the wall on his left. He looked for the text for a few minutes without result. Jack ended hailing him, exasperated. 

"So, have you lost something Jacob?"

It was Selmak who answered.

"We must have passed though one of these EM fields you told us about. I am looking for a sentence that could help us to the place where that passage was written."

"If you told us what else you have read at that place, we might help," Sam broke in.

And so Daniel, Sam, Jacob and Garik looked on the walls for an element of orientation whereas Nolbe, Kaleb and Hulkin rested, the other two standing watch.

After an hour, Sam, Garik and Jacob called the others simultaneously.

"That's it, I think I've found it!"

They looked at the three sentences and decided to use the one Sam had discovered.

"It might be reasonable to leave a distinguishing sign to mark the sections of the labyrinth we have already visited," Teal'c suggested. 

"This is an excellent idea. We could use pieces of cloth."

Daniel immediately tore a pocket from his jacket and dropped it on the floor. Everyone took his pack and Sam pressed on the sentence she had found. A passage opened. Once they were all through, the translators rushed to the walls.

After twenty minutes or so, nobody had found any sentence referencing to daylight. They decided to come back to the last section. Then they tried Garik's sentence.

In the same way, they looked on the walls for a sentence about daylight. Fifteen minutes were enough to make sure they had not found the right section. They came back to their staring point again. Then it was Jacob's sentence, also followed by failure.

"That's enough. I think everybody needs rest. We have been up for almost 20 hours. Let's get back to the passage where we met, sleep a few hours and start again the search," Jack ordered.

Nobody found anything to say. Sam dropped a pocket like Teal'c and the colonel had done in the last two sections. Then they walked through the passage and install themselves to sleep.

Six hours later, when Daniel woke up, he saw Nolbe standing watch, Sam and her father were looking for indications on the walls. The others were still asleep. Sam hailed her father. She showed him a passage. Daniel got up to join them, frustrated he could not hear what they were saying. When he arrived near them, Sam turned to him.

"I think it's the right one this time. Lets wake the others."

In five minutes, everyone was up, ready to leave. They walked through a new passage. Kaleb found immediately the sentence about daylight. They looked at one another and Hulkin pressed the sentence in relief.


	3. Part 3

A pyramid among so many 

Disclaimer: As usual, the characters and settings do not belong to us and we will try to do justice to their creators.

This is my translation of a fanfic written in French with my friend Marion and this is our first stargate fanfic, so please be indulgent…

We are eager for your comments, you can contact us at marion.c@frisoo.freesurf.fr and the_amyrlin_seat@mailcity.com.

A/N: I am really sorry for the long delay between part 2 and 3 (I hate authors who don't take time to update too) but I really had my hands full during the last few months and couldn't find time to make the translation. The story has been finished for a while in French so don't worry, the next part should be posted before next year! A few reviews might help me speed up…  J

Thanks to Brigitte for the wonderful beta job!

The action takes place sometime during season 5 (so Daniel is not « dead » yet).

Chapter 9 

A passage opened in the wall. Kaleb switched off the Goa'uld lamp and all could see a bright light illuminating the whole corridor on the other side. Daniel was making a start when Jack put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait a minute. How do we know that whatever we are going to find on the other side isn't dangerous?"

"Hem… We don't." Daniel answered frowning. "But it seems we don't have much of a choice."

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this. This is too easy."

The other members of SG1, Hulkin and the four Tok'ra gathered to join the conversation.

"Easy?"

"You know what I mean, Jacob. Daniel and Sam agree on the fact that this pyramid is some kind of Goa'uld trap and yet we open secret passages and we are about to see sunlight without much trouble."

"Am I supposed to resent the fact that you don't consider my observation and deduction skills?"

"No."

"Ah, OK."

"Sir, I understand your point of view, but, as Daniel, I don't think we have much of a choice."

Jack pondered the problem for a few seconds; he did not want to get stuck in that temple for longer than necessary.

"All right, but stay alert."

They moved into the narrow passage, Jack and Teal'c coming first with their weapons ready for use and the Tok'ra closing the march.

After a few minutes, the light became blinding and Jack looked for his sunglasses in his jacket pockets while Teal'c was protecting his eyes with the back of his hand.

After so many hours spent in an almost absolute darkness, it was difficult to readjust to such an intense brightness and for a few minutes, no one could distinguish anything but a powerful white strike.

Less than a few seconds after the last member of the Tok'ra had stepped out of the passage, it closed automatically with a deafening sound. Jack and Sam turned to the wall and noted with astonishment that it was gone. They called for the others and traced their steps back, but it didn't change a thing, the passage had simply disappeared.

They put their equipment down and started to inspect the place they had entered, while their eyes were getting used to the light.

A vast green prairie stretched all around them, the grass was still wet with the morning dew and a nice breeze stroked their faces. Many plants with sparkling colors and unknown on Earth could be seen. A little farther they could see the edge of a wood. Behind them the green fields stretching as far as they could see did not allow them to find their bearings. No sign of a construction could be distinguished, in any direction, even by Teal'c's fine eyes.

"O'Neill, this place looks strangely like the one where we found the pyramid."

"Daniel, Jacob, Sam… any explanation? " Jack asked, exasperation showing in his voice. 

Sam was the one who answered, trying to calm down her commanding officer.

"Sir, we may be out of the pyramid. For all we know, it could be another part of the planet."

"You see, what bothers me in all this is your "maybe"!"

"I'm sorry but that's all I have to offer for the time being."

Jack put his frustration aside and assumed his role as an officer. He turned back and made sure everybody was there; the Tok'ra were admiring the vegetation and enjoying the sun they had not seen for almost four days, Sam and Daniel were discussing the different possibilities as to know where they were, Teal'c was watching the surroundings for any sign of threat and Hulkin was sitting on the grass, he was crying. Jack joined him to make sure everything was all right.

"You know, I didn't think I would see the sun again one day," Hulkin said between tears, "thank you."

"You're welcome. You have also helped us. Come on." He gave him a hand to stand up and they walked to the others. Once they had all gathered, they sat down and started to discuss what they were going to do.

"O'Neill, this position is not safe, difficult to defend if attacked, we should not stay here long."

"I agree Jack. We have two options. Either we go towards the wood, or we go for the plain and whatever lays beyond," Jacob said in a firm voice.

"Daniel, a suggestion?" Jack asked his friend who was staring at the sun with a strange intensity.

"Hum? No, in fact I'm not so sure we have left the pyramid," Daniel answered slowly, out of his reverie.

Chapter 10 

They all looked at each other when this possibility was brought up. After a few seconds of utter shock, Carter looked at her instruments. After she had pushed a few keys, Colonel O'Neill interrupted her.

"Major, what does your favorite equipment tell you?"

"That there are good chances we are still inside the pyramid."

"And this is a chance?"

She didn't take the time to answer and went on with her explanations.

"Up to now the GPS wasn't giving me information. The last coordinates I got are for the entrance and the way to the stargate. Here I receive something again but it has nothing to do with the outside of the pyramid, at least not the one we are familiar with."

"Excuse me Sam, but it doesn't necessarily mean we are still inside?"

"Absolutely, we could have found another exit but, and Daniel will surely agree with me, if anything like that existed, it would be opposite to the first, or on one of the other sides. And the actual coordinates don't match that either, according to my estimations."

"Fine. You are going to find another way to get us out of here, but in the meantime we are going to get cover at the edge of that wood. Let's go!"

The whole group gathered their equipment. Then, with Jack leading, they took the direction of the forest. After five meters, Jack's head violently encountered an invisible surface. Startled, he held his hand to his forehead, and extended it in front of him, searching for what he could have bumped into. Daniel joined him and made the same gesture.

"Care for an explanation?"

Daniel put his backpack down and with his two hands, explored what was in front of him. After a few minutes, he finally answered the interrogations the others were having.

"I think we are just in another segment of the pyramid and Jack, you collided with one of the corridor walls."

"How can this wall be transparent? And how can we see what's outside just like if we were there?"

Sam had gotten closer to the wall as everybody else and touched what they could not see.

"The system is probably always the same. We have to find another part of the text that would allow us to direct ourselves."

"Besides, I think we need to concentrate again on the columns. They present a logic that may help us understand the pyramid better and the way it works," Daniel added. 

While saying this, he was searching around for the columns he found easily. Then he traced his steps back and tried to find the opposite wall and columns. Once he had found them, he turned to see what his companions were doing.

"What do you think, Jacob?" Jack asked.

"I think this is our best chance, even if the work may be long if we can only decipher the symbols with our hands. We should find a way to concentrate our translations on the informative passages: the ones on the walls and those which are part of the logical text on the columns."

"Concerning the wall, it's easy enough to make out the phrases in relief, "Nolbe broke in after having laid his hands on the wall, "we also have to mark the passages we have translated."

"We could rub the symbols with grass… " Daniel proposed, joining gesture to word.

And the symbols really did appear on the test column. Two teams were created: Daniel, Nolbe, and Jacob took the phrases on the walls whereas Sam, Kaleb and Garik took the columns. Teal'c and Jack went back to their surveillance duty. 

Each one marked a phrase and rubbed it like Daniel had and then translated the symbols thus revealed. They discovered some phrases they had already translated and some phrases that didn't give anything new. But sometimes a phrase seemed more interesting. After an hour, they assembled to share their discoveries.

"The second phrase I read would surely allow us to return to the pyramid. It mentions an obscure zone, " Nolbe explained.

"With Kaleb and Garik, we have reconstructed a phrase that explains the wise can find their way through the obstacles of the dark world. It says the way is near the gods."

"But the Ancients did not have any god, did they?"

"I don't know Jack but I remember something about a list of Goa'uld System Lords. Maybe that's it?"

Jack broke the silence that followed.

"So we get back to the pyramid and look for that list. That's the idea?"

Chapter 11 

"Do you have another suggestion?"

"Hum… not really." Jack answered with resignation.

Nolbe stood up and walked to a part of the wall still green with the grass he had rubbed it with.

"This is where I read a passage mentioning an obscure zone." He pointed his finger towards a part of the text above his head.

"There are several sentences that speak of this part of the pyramid but I only found one in relief." And saying this, he stood on the tip of his toes and pressed the said sentence. A deafening sound was heard, like each time they had managed to open a passage, but to everybody's great surprise, the wall did not open in front of them. They looked at each other, unbelieving, and silence fell back on the group; nobody could speak out the worst fears that had just come back, then suddenly Jack yelled:

"The passage… on the other side!"

SG1, Hulkin and the Tok'ra turned back to the other side of the corridor and saw that indeed a passage had opened in the wall opposite to the one they had found the key sentence on. They could distinguish the passage because it was not as bright as the part of the corridor in which they were standing. On the other side they could easily feel the dark and chilly atmosphere of the pyramid they had left a few hours before.

Jack shot a questioning look at Daniel, Sam and Jacob. They looked at each other for a brief moment before heading to the open passage and walking in. The rest of the team followed, with Jack and Teal'c at the rear behind Hulkin who cast a last look at the sun he had missed so much during the last six months and which he feared he would never see again.

When they got together again in the gloomy shadow of the corridor they knew so well, the team lit up two flashlights and inspected their surroundings.

"We never went through this section of the corridor? Did you?" Daniel asked the Tok'ra.

"We are not familiar with these markings," Jacob answered after a few minutes, "do you remember where you saw that list of Goa'ulds?"

"Not really. We have translated so much text since yesterday! I'm not even sure if it was on the columns or on the wall. I am truly sorry."

"Don't worry. We will look for it on both," Sam said trying to comfort her friend. 

They started to look for a sentence that mentioned gods or Goa'ulds. They formed the same groups as before, Daniel, Nolbe and Jacob looked at the walls while Sam, Kaleb and Garik took care of the columns. Jack and Teal'c took place on each side of the corridor and watched for the unexpected coming of visitors. Their task was not easy because the two flashlights of the team had been given to the translators and they had to watch in an eternal darkness, trusting more their earring than their sight and being aware of every noise with fear. Hulkin had not said a word since they had come back inside the pyramid, he was sitting against a column and seemed to wait, his eyes staring straight ahead.

After more than two hours of unsuccessful searching, both teams decided to look at the other side of the corridor. They had fixed a limited zone so they did not risk passing through an EM field and be separated from the others. To go faster in studying the text on the walls and columns they had decided not to translate all the sentences but only those where they had found the characters meaning the word god. Their research field was so limited they had been able to go through most of the text on the left-hand side of the corridor and were starting to examine the right-hand side. They had seen nothing so far that could be a valuable hint but they did not give way to despair. Jack and Teal'c were still standing watch, unaffected. Hulkin had not moved by an inch, despite the various solicitations from SG1; he was still with his back to a column, absent.

Two more hours went by like this. Two long hours during which the only noises that could be heard were the scratching of pens in notebooks and from time to time Daniel's mumblings. 

When they had finished deciphering the segment the limits of which they had fixed, they all joined in the center of the corridor.

"We have found nothing here. We have to continue looking in another segment," Jacob stated.

"If I understood right, we are going to walk in the corridor and end up in another part of the pyramid without even knowing it?"

"That's about right, sir. I know this is not a very satisfying plan but that's the only option we have."

"We'll follow you, then," Jack answered, motioning for her to lead the group.

They decided to go left, quickly packed their belongings and started.

Fifteen minutes later, Kaleb stopped and signaled the others to join him.

"We have never seen that part of the text, "he said indicating the column next to him.

"Okay, we can stop here and continue our translation," Jacob proposed.

In a silent agreement the teams formed again and everybody took their post. Hulkin who had followed the group went back to staring at the dust on the ground, his back to a wall now.

Half an hour later Garik yelled: "That's it, I think I found something." He pointed to the others a part of the text on the column in front of him. They could read the name of many System Lords familiar to SG1: Ra, Apophis, Baal, Sokar… and some they had never heard of. Under that list they could guess another part of the text, somewhat erased.

"Jack, I think that it's the text below the list that explains how to get out."

"Yes! At least some good news!" Jack said, overflowed with joy.

"Don't get excited too fast. I can't translate this. The language, the code, everything is different." Daniel sighed.

"O'Neill, I think we have bigger problems."

Not too far, their distinctly heard a voice shouting: "Jaffa, kree!"

Chapter 12 

At that sound, they all rushed to hide behind the columns on each side of the corridor. They got their weapons out and assumed a battle pattern. On the other end of the corridor, the Jaffa had done the same thing. Shortly, fire, zat and lance shots were exchanged. In the uproar Daniel yelled.

"We have to protect the text!"

Sam and Kaleb were the closest to that part of the wall and did their best under the heavy fire of their sworn enemies. Several Jaffas fell but the others kept moving forward. After a few minutes, they could finally see who they were fighting against: on the soldiers' forehead they were all surprised to see the mark of Apophis. Daniel had a movement of hesitation at that discovery. After thinking it over during a few minutes, he turned to Jack.

"I think they are trapped in the pyramid, just like us."

"What difference does it make?"

"None, but they surely don't know Apophis is dead. Have you seen them before Hulkin?"

"Never, no. But this pyramid is huge and I was really lucky to meet you."

During that conversation the battle was still raging and Apophis' men were slowly advancing. Then, the one that seemed to be a leader made a sign for his men to stop firing. Jack, after asking Jacob with a look, did the same. Everyone was staying alert. When Jack couldn't take it anymore, he called out the Jaffa.

"So, you're just walking around here?"

"Silence, Tau'ri, if you don't want my men to kill you."

"For now, we seem to have the advantage. You've got what? Three dead? I don't even have a wounded in here!"

"Jaffa!" the one the Colonel had been talking too shouted, quite irritated. 

"Excuse me," Daniel cut in, "but how long have you been imprisoned here?"

"Those who serve a god are never prisoners!"

"About that, you may be interested to know that Apophis is dead."

"Liar, you can't kill…"

"… A god. The only problem is he isn't one!"

Upon these words, the angry Jaffas started to fire again. Jack lurched to one side to take cover and he addressed Daniel.

"You saw that, I tried to communicate, but they don't want to listen!"

Daniel rolled his eyes upwards and didn't bother to answer. They both went back to the combat, Hulkin still hidden behind them since he had no weapon. The Jaffa fell one after the other. Slowly the intensity of the enemy fire decreased until no sound could be heard anymore. They waited a few seconds before Sam dared walk out from behind the column where she was posted. She proceeded with caution, slaloming between the inert bodies of Apophis' men, and quickly followed by Jacob, the others covering them. When she reached the place where the Jaffa was lying, she looked around and suddenly she heard the characteristic sound of a lance that is being activated. She did not have the time to throw herself out of the way because the shot was already fired. Jacob reacted very swiftly and fired on the bunch in the shadow where the blast had come from. The mass fell slowly. Instantly Nolbe arrived with a torch. They looked hurriedly at the surrounding bodies, making sure they was no danger left.

The others arrived hastily. Jacob was already by his daughter's side and Teal'c equal to himself was watching the corridor. Jacob turned to face Jack. 

"She is wounded on her right shoulder. She has lost a lot of blood. I'm going to patch her up as I can but we have to get her back quickly to treat her correctly. Do you have any painkiller?"

"And don't you have a miraculous device that can… I don't know… work miracles, like every good Tok'ra that respects himself?" Jack asked, giving him a dose of morphine.

Garik was the one to answer.

"We do have a device we use for first aid but the major's wound is too large."

"Daniel, you know what you have to do."

He nodded and moved to the part of the text they had noticed, followed closely by Hulkin, Kaleb and Nolbe.

All four started to work, trying to decipher this new language. After having taken care of Sam Jacob joined them. He bent to the text in question and after observing it a few minutes he turned to the translators and Selmak talked to them.

"I've already seen that kind of writing. It is a mixture of two alphabets: one is derived from the Ancient and one looks like the Cyrillic we can find on Earth. I have already come across such a text on a planet I have visited for the Tok'ra. Sadly, at that time I had not understood how it worked. Oh, I have a few pointers but nothing definite!"

"Tell us what you had found out, maybe it will help us move along."

Selmak started to talk, showing them signs or associations of symbols, explaining what he had deduced. On a few occasions he was interrupted by one of his partners giving his opinion on another possible translation. But after an hour, the text still didn't make sense. Nolbe sighed out of exasperation. Daniel shifted his head to look at Sam who was propped against a column, visibly very much in pain, even if she was trying to hide it. Hulkin sat on the ground, just in font of the text.

"Could you move a little, please?" Kaleb asked politely.

"No prob…" Hulkin started after raising his head to look at his interlocutor. 

Daniel turned to him to see if everything was all right. Jack, intrigued by their new friend's attitude, was the one to question him.

"What's going on?"

"I… I think the text has a meaning from here…"

Instantly Daniel sat at the base of the wall. He was moving his head from left to right, seeming to read what he was looking at. After a few minutes he looked at his teammates. 

"Well, I think the exit isn't far away…"


	4. Part 4

A pyramid among so many 

Disclaimer: As usual, the characters and settings do not belong to us and we will try to do justice to their creators.

This is my translation of a fanfic written in French with my friend Marion and this is our first stargate fanfic, so please be indulgent…

We are eager for your comments, you can contact us at marion.c@frisoo.freesurf.fr and the_amyrlin_seat@mailcity.com.

A/N: A great thanks to the people who took time to review part 3. As promised, part 4 is posted before the end of the year J. Don't hesitate to tell me how you like the end of the story. Did we manage to keep everyone in character?

The action takes place sometime during season 5 (so Daniel is not « dead » yet).

Chapter 13 

During that time, on Earth, in the SGC, General Hammond was pacing in the control room. In front of him the sergeant was sitting at the control panel and waiting for his orders. He turned to face his commanding officer. 

"Sir, it's been over three hours since we should have heard of them."

"I know sergeant. I know." General Hammond sighed. SG1 was really very late and according to the regulations, their code should have been deactivated three hours before, but he had waited. This was not the first time Colonel O'Neill and his team did not exactly abide by the rules; he was still hoping he would receive a transmission or a signal that could prove SG1 was still alive but the gate remained closed.

"Deactivate SG1's code."

"Wait, Sir, you can't do that! They won't be able to come back! And if they try the iris will stay in place and…" Dr Frasier could not end that sentence, thinking of her friends disintegrated in the vortex of the stargate.

"Doctor, I don't have a choice. I have already waited much longer than I should have. Don't worry, SG1 will find a way home," And he added in a whisper "at least I hope."

He turned back to the sergeant who was still waiting for his orders. "Go ahead."

The sergeant pressed some commands and answered a few seconds later.

"Code deactivated."

At the same time, on Suban, SG1 and their friends were far from these considerations. They had made silence and were looking at Daniel with insistence.

"Explain yourself."

"From here, with so little light, some signs can't be read and the rest of the text becomes understandable." Daniel answered enthusiastically. "Why haven't I thought about this earlier?"

"Daniel! The way out?"

"Oh, yes. So the text isn't very long and according to my knowledge we could translate it with: there is no pyramid."

"How so? There is no pyramid? So were do you think we are?"

"Jack, don't be upset, I am only translating the text," Daniel answered as he stood up. 

He was instantly imitated by Hulkin.

"Sorry, but I'm tired to play hide and seek in this damn corridor!"

"What do you think it means?" Selmak asked calmly.

"I don't have a clue, but the answer can't be far. Maybe on one of these columns," Daniel said, pointing to the few columns that surrounded the one he was standing in front of.

They decided to examine the two columns that were the closest and the wall behind them. They formed three teams of two: Selmak and Daniel were to inspect the wall, Garik and Hulkin the column on the left and Kaleb and Nolbe the column on the right.

During that time, Teal'c was standing watch, more cautious than ever with every detail, their previous encounter with the Jaffa had taught them that their precautions were not futile. The Colonel O'Neill sat by Sam and looked at her strap, it was starting to be covered with blood. 

"Hold on, we are going home soon."

"I know," Sam said with a tentative smile in response to the attempt at comfort from Jack.

Half an hour later, the teams had not made any obvious progress when Jack asked for news.

"You should think about hurrying," he said to Daniel, looking at Sam.

"I know Jack, but I can assure you that we're doing as fast as we can."

Sam was indeed looking paler and paler by the minute, her strap was by now completely covered in blood and she was having trouble to keep her eyes open.

Daniel was exasperated, he knew the answer was under his nose but he could not see it; the text on the wall bore no reference to the inscription they had translated earlier or to a way out. He turned back to the column and scrutinized the text again to check if they had not missed something important. He sighed and was drawing away when a feature got his attention. 

"Jacob, could you come over here please?"

"You have found something?"

"That sign, there, just below the inscription, the one that's almost entirely erased, can you translate it?"

"No, but I don't see it clearly, if I could wipe out some of the dust that covers it…" Speaking of it, he passed his hand over the inscription.

At that moment, the symbols went down inside the stone. The ground started to shake, so did the columns and the walls. A strange sound startled them and made them turn to their right, they noted with surprise that the corridor was no longer a straight line but was making a turn after a few meters. 

"The EM fields must be down," Sam commented as she awoke from her torpor. 

She was about to go on when she was interrupted by a thunderous noise originating from the ceiling. They raised their heads and noticed the sun making an appearance, the walls disappearing little by little, in a way that reminded them of the Tok'ra galleries.  

A few minutes later, the walls and the columns were just above their heads.

"Jack, we should get ready for any eventuality," Jacob warned. 

The Colonel O'Neill was helping Sam to stand up and looked at him questioningly.

"We have just freed every single person who was prisoner of the pyramid, friend or foe."

Chapter 14 

They exchanged worried looks, wondering what was going to happen now, half relieved to be probably able to go home. They looked around. The walls were at that point about fifty centimeters high. The Tok'ra, Teal'c and Daniel formed a circle around Hulkin, Jack and Sam who was supported by her commanding officer, to be prepared for any prospect. All were waiting with some impatience for the walls to end their sliding down, as they could reveal at any moment another group of Jaffas or other enemies.  They were on the center of what had been the pyramid. They could now see it had a square base with a 500 meters side. They saw a little farther away the bodies of the Jaffas they had met earlier that day. Nothing was stirring there.

The walls met the ground at last but the floor didn't disappear. They were now standing on a great stone platform. Nothing was moving around them. 

"I don't know about you but I look very much forward to go back to Earth and now that's possible, I won't deny myself my wish!" Jack stated as he began to move away.

Sam, who had looked at her GPS, signaled the direction to take. Hulkin stopped them.

"I would like to find the corpses of my companions."

"Hey, I hope you don't intend to bring them back. You can come back later to do that!" Jack groaned after shooting a worried look in the direction of Major Carter.

"I only want to bring back something to prove their deaths. But I would understand if you did not wish to help me…"

"Sir, I'm okay, let's help him…" Sam said in a low voice.

Hulkin searched the surface quickly. After five minutes, he found what he was looking for next to a side of the pyramid. He bent down to his previous travel companions and fetched the medallions each of them was wearing around his neck. They all watched him mourn. At last, he stood up and was ready to leave when something shiny got his attention. He closed up and kneeled to pick up some sort of a tablet which seemed to be made of the same stone as the floor but was very light. Daniel walked to him and looked over his shoulder. After a few minutes reading, he raised his head and looked at the others.

"That's incredible!"

"What now? Do I have to remind you we want to go home?"

"What's written here, it's… it's simply amazing!"

"Are you going to explain yourself or do I have to torture you?"

Daniel had laid the tablet on the ground and pulled out a camera. While he was taking pictures of the artifact under varied angles, Jacob had come to him and was watching what was written.

"You're right, it's simply unbelievable! I didn't see anybody after the pyramid had vanished, did you?"

"Nobody has seen anything, dad. What is this about?"

"Well, it's written: "You have defeated the pyramid that exist and will exist beyond time. Congratulations to you nine. And make sure your people stay friends and continue to fight the Goa'ulds." Next comes the whole text we have tried to translate during our stay here! It's weird, it's like somebody had watched us during our exploration and had engraved that text just for us!"

Sam, who was still leaning on Jack, had a weak movement.

"Oh, Major, don't give up on us! Daniel, I'm sure this is wonderful but I think we really have to go back now. You will have time to translate this in you favorite lab."

Nobody had anything to add and the journey back to the stargate began. Sam was feeling worse and worse and slowed them considerably. 

After twenty minutes of walking and since there were a few trees nearby, they decided to halt. Jack and Nolbe took the opportunity to build up a handmade stretch while Jacob and Daniel were watching over the wounded. They were able to resume their course, with Sam saving her breath since she was lying down. An hour later, they were standing in front of the gate.

Hulkin was the first to go home, after goodbyes, address exchanges and promises to see each other again. Daniel was standing by the DHD and was starting to input the coordinates for Earth when Teal'c interrupted him.

"We can't go back like that, Daniel Jackson. We are six hours late…"

SG1 then remembered the warning the General had given them.

"The 24 hours… And I can't see the MALP anymore," Daniel said in a whisper.

"Another mystery," Jack added exasperated.

"You can't come with us but you can stay here while we go and get the Tok'ra code," Selmak proposed.

"Sam may not be able to hold up until your return. You have to take her with you to treat her."

"We can't bring anyone without the agreement of the Tok'ra council, Colonel," Garik explained.

"I don't care what they think! You are going to take the Major with you, treat her and then come back for us! That's the least you can do after what we did for you. And that's your daughter we are speaking of Jacob! You can't leave her in that state!"

"He's right. Let's go!" Jacob said after a few minutes of consideration. He motioned for his two companions to take up the stretch while he was entering the coordinates.

After a last look to the remaining members of SG1, the Tok'ra went through the gate with Sam.

Chapter 15 

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c watched their friends walk through the gate one by one. The vortex closed a few minutes later and the remaining members of SG1 gathered their belongings and sat on the grass in front of the DHD.

Daniel was still reading the tablet with a fascination that annoyed Colonel O'Neill a great deal and Teal'c was watching Jack's frustration with a knowing smile.

"I don't get what you can find so interesting in that tablet."

"Hum?" Daniel raised his head to look at Jack questioningly. 

"Forget it." Jack sighed.

Daniel looked at Teal'c who made a sign to indicate that he did not know what this was about, nodded and went back to his examination of the artifact.

One hour later, the night was beginning to fall and the archeologist took a torch in his pack to continue his reading. 

At that moment Jack stood up and let his exasperation explode. 

"It's been an hour since they went ! What can they be doing? We are not going to wait for them for days!" he said, not addressing one of his companions.

"I'm sure that Major Carter is all right and that the Tok'ra are taking great care of her, O'Neill."

"Of course, of course." The Colonel sat back and started to look in his pack for something to have for diner.

At the same moment, on the Tok'ra base, Selmak and Garik were bent over a stretch where Sam laid unconscious.

"She has lost a lot of blood."

"I know, but with what we gave her, her bone marrow should be able to regenerate the lost elements quickly."

"The council only allowed us a few hours, time for her to be stable enough to go back to Earth."

"Don't worry, she is robust."

On Suban, the members of SG1 were enjoying a frugal meal composed mostly of vitamin bars the Colonel had managed to find in his pack.

Suddenly, the ring of the stargate started to turn and the chevrons to lock.

Jack and Teal'c stood and took the weapons they had placed not far away.

Daniel followed them a few seconds later, after he had put away the precious tablet. All waited anxiously for the vortex to open and let pass their Tok'ra friends along with Major Carter.

But when the vortex finally opened, Hulkin was the one to walk through the gate.

He was out of breath and was looking behind him as if to be sure nobody had followed him. His clothes were torn and they could see many scratches on his face and arms.

He caught his breath only when the door closed and staggered to his friends. 

Daniel approached him worriedly.

"What's going on? We were not to see you before several days, on Earth.

"I know. It's terrible. My world… under siege." He had trouble to enunciate and was making obvious efforts not to fall.

"Sit down. Tell us. Who is attacking you world?"

"The Goa'uld. Everywhere Jaffas are shooting on civilians, explosions can be heard in the streets. More than half of the city is already destroyed," Hulkin answered with emotion. 

"But, how is this possible? The Goa'uld had left you world many centuries ago," Daniel asked.

"I don't know. It began several weeks ago. They came through the gate. From what I understood, someone called Baal wants to expand his territory and has declared we owe him allegiance."

"Always the same scenario I can see. We should tell them to renew it from time to time."

"And when you refused, they decided to take your planet by force." Teal'c summarized with sadness. 

Hulkin nodded in silence.

"Did anybody see you walk through the door?"

"I'm not sure, I think I saw some Jaffa entering the room where the gate is when I left, but I can't be sure."

"What? You mean a horde of Jaffa may be ready to walk through the gate at this instant to come and get you?

Once more Hulkin nodded in silence.

At that exact moment, the gate was activated. Within a few seconds the vortex opened.

Jack and Teal'c led their friends to the edge of the woods, where the growing shadow would protect them a few moments from unwanted guests. They were ready, staring at the blue surface of the gate.

A sigh of relief was heard when they saw Jacob supporting Sam who looked a lot better.

Jack, Teal'c and Daniel rapidly walked to Major Carter and her father who were waiting in front of the DHD; Hulkin followed them a few meters behind.

When they were assured of the health state of the major, Daniel started to enter Earth coordinates.

"Jack, what's going on?"

"No time to tell. We are  going back home. Hulkin you come with us."

The gate opened and Jacob activated the Tok'ra code. Jack and Sam went first, Jacob and Hulkin followed, then Teal'c and Daniel.

Just before he walked through the gate, Daniel gave a last look to the planet, in the shadow of twilight.

To his great surprise, the pyramid was rebuilt.

Chapter 16 

"External activation of the gate."

The General arrived at that moment in the control room.

"Are you getting any signal?"

"No… Wait, we are receiving a Tok'ra code, Sir."

"Open the iris," General Hammond said, and he strode to the gate room, closely followed by Janet who had met them.

When Hammond entered, Jack was walking through the gate.

"It's good to be home!"

The others were close behind, Daniel still with his head turned to the sight of the rebuilt pyramid. All the men in the room had lowered their weapons when the first members of SG1 had showed up but several of them pointed them back at Hulkin.

"Lower your weapons, it's just us!"

Seeing the lack of response of the soldiers, the General made a sign witch made them react.

"Glad to see you SG1, Jacob, and…"

"Hulkin, sir. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance."

"You will explain everything in an hour, during debriefing; but for now, just follow Doctor Frasier."

"Excuse me sir, but Hulkin's world is in a bad posture, Baal is trying to take control of his planet and we would like to go and help them."

"You will tell me about that later. I can't send teams without knowing what it is about."

Jack, knowing that nothing he could say would make a difference, turned to Janet.

"I'm sure you missed us… And so did your dear needles!"

"It's true, my infirmary isn't the same without you, Sir!"

Hulkin followed them, so did Jacob who wanted to be sure his daughter was all right.

An hour later, everyone met in the briefing room. Once they were all seated, the General came in.

"Well, I am listening to you. Explain me what cost you more than seven hours of delay."

Jack started but was quickly interrupted by Daniel who wanted to talk about that pyramid, which was extraordinary according to him, where they had entered. Seeing that, if they let him, nothing could prevent him from telling every single details of what they had read on the walls, Sam went back to the explanation. Hulkin was next invited to talk about his planet.

"Our society is probably not as advanced as yours but for 50 years we have been making huge progress. That is what allowed us to understand the functioning of the DHD and to start exploring other worlds. We had found some addresses in the pages of a very old book. Suban was the third planet we visited. I stayed 6 months in that pyramid and I will be eternally grateful that you made possible for me to get out of it alive. When I returned to my planet, I immediately saw something serious had happened. There wasn't anybody around the gate. When I arrived in the city, there was a general panic. I hid inside a house. Between two explosions the owner explained it had been like that for several weeks. It seemed to be about somebody called Baal. I ran to my home but my house had been destroyed. So I decided to go back to Suban, hoping you would still be there and maybe you could help us. I saw your weapons. They seem effective."

The General thought for a moment and turned towards Hulkin.

"I'm sending SG3, SG7 and SG11 to help you. Do you want to accompany them to show them the way?"

"Thank you sir!"

"Excuse me, Sir, but why aren't we allowed to go too?" Sam asked.

"You have just returned from a long mission where you were wounded I seem to recall, Major. I think you need rest."

Half an hour later Hulkin was gone with the three teams. After a good diner all together, each member of SG1 went his way. Teal'c returned to his quarters for a too much delayed Kelno'reem. Sam respected Janet's advice and went to bed without checking on her beloved reactors. Jack decided to have a good night's rest. Daniel walked to his office with the tablet to stock it in view of a future translation.

Two days later, the three teams came back after making Baal's men flee. An agreement of protection was concluded between Earth and Derion, Hulkin's planet.

Sam had gotten back to her reactors and Daniel to his lab so he could finish the translation. When he took the tablet in his hands, the text had disappeared. 

The end

* * *


End file.
